 Get your own knuckles at the knuckle tattoo gun. |
Going slower up hills, going faster down hills, and jumping stuff seems to be the theme lately. Of course what goes down must go up at some point (if not consult your doctor) so it's not like I haven't been paying my dues. I had three different rides in three different areas over the past four days that I guess are worth a mention.
Thursday I rode the Kitsuma loop with the ladies.. It's always nice to ride with girls, for a number of reasons. One great reason to ride with your homegirls is a noticeable lack of the ole "were just gonna take it easy today" only to have every dude race from the trail head all the way back to the car. No, most of the female persuasion has a different look on things and a ride with the ladies is more about the ride.. with Shanna and Beth it was simply a few mountain bikers out on the trail enjoying a warmer than usual winter day in the sun on a beautiful mountain. Now, you can't beat a good hard ride with the boys but the lack of testosterone does make it a little more like nature hike then a bike race. This is by no means an insult to the ladies. And, I will let it be known that Beth has destroyed me on this trail before and on this day Shanna rode it on a rigid single speed and kicked ASS! No, the ladies had it going on and kept me working just hard enough to get the heartrate up but still enjoy the view. The ride up old 70 seemed easier than it has ever felt and the new pavement tricks you into believing your just strolling along on some greenway in the park. The hill is still there I just didn't seem to notice.. Kitsuma was is great shape and only a small amount of snow remained. It was a fun two hour jaunt and we topped it off with a post ride pint at Pisgah Headquarters.
On Saturday a crew and I made another trip to Big Ivy / Colman Boundary. Big views, steep descents and a good 8 or 9 miles of climbing was a nice way to spend a Saturday. We were treated to an "ice volcano" that was unlike any ice feature that I have ever seen and unfortunately I will have only memories as I forgot my camera (imagine a 10 ft mountain of ice eating a giant waterfall). The ice cold temps of last week turned the streams and waterfalls into flowing ice sculptures which was the inverse of the last time I rode these trails when the ground was covered in a few inches of snow (as in the blog header pic) and the falls were full of flowing water. Pisgah Bruce, Phil, Saver, C. Craig (sponsor of the heartbreaker), and the cool Colombian Ricardo made the trip and everyone survived a slow, wet and cold climb to the top then a slick Staire Creek decent.
Sunday it was off to the North Mills area for some fun trails with Park and one of the Kerber boys. It was a different kind of ride filled with a lot of thrills and only a few spills. Spending five hours hanging in Pisgah this particular Sunday left me feeling as though I had been to church, school and party all in one. Guess you could say it was a good ride.
enjoy your ride...
jut
No comments:
Post a Comment